Nutrition of Student Athletes
It’s intuitive that for both top scholastic and athletic performance nutrition just like studying and training, respectively, is just as crucial for success. Unfortunately however, many people, according to Athletic Business, including collegiate athletes and coaches are “starved for nutrition knowledge”. Further, Athletic Business also states that this problem is found across a variety of athletic activities, but although the specific issues differ. For example, collegiate football players may have issues with over eating or consuming the wrong type of foods which impede performance while wrestlers and divers may have issues with under eating. In this article we’re going to look at strategies recommended by professional sports organizations to overcome this so you can and perform at the very top of you game.
To begin there are a few general rules to stick with regardless of the activity one is engaged with be it soccer, football or basketball training. The first and most obvious is hydration. As a baseline amount the Mayo Clinic recommends an adult man and woman drink three and about two and a quarter liters per day, respectively. Further, when engaged in light exercise they recommend one should drink about half a liter to compensate for fluid lose over the course of an hour if not more if one is exercising for longer. For more specific amounts Sports Medicine has a great page on how much water one should consume when working out based off of one’s weight.
Moving on to subsistence there will be some differences in what one should eat depending on the sport one is in, but on the whole they are the same. For example, if one is engaged in football training about fifty-five to sixty percent of the diet should consist of complex carbohydrates. However this does not mean just any carbohydrates. Good complex carbs include things like low-fat bagels, mashed potatoes over crisps, and yogurt instead of iced cream. Eating foods like these are key for maintaining speed and agility. Moving on, the remainder, about thirty percent or so, should consist of protein. Keep in mind that too much protein will be stored as fat rather than be built up as muscle, and protein need not be derived from red meat either. Instead food high in protein can be found in beans, nuts, and eggs, as well as fish.
Similar to someone in football training a person involved in basketball training should follow a similar diet according to the USA Basketball. Most of the diet should consist of carbohydrates, and the remainder should be protein and fat. USAB also adds that meals should be staggered throughout the day rather than be consumed in the traditional three meals a day. Instead they recommend the one have five to seven meals a day spaced apart.
Just as important as nutrition, just like training during the sports season, is off-season nutrition. Whether you are looking to gain weight or maintain it, do not go through a drastic dietary change. Even if you are trying to get leaner reducing you caloric intake too fast will result in a loss of muscle mass. However, Active does recommend you consumer fewer animals, not to indulge in junk food, increase your consumption of plant matter. This will help maintain your weight without throwing your body out of equilibrium.
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